Strawberry and Lemon Verbena Galette (paleo)

Nobody likes flaky friends. Unless of course these friends are in galette form. Then give me ALL the flakiness.

Who knew you could have flaky crust while being paleo as well?

And guess what inter web friends? Making a galette, although it seems intimidating, is actually really easy. Promise.

A galette is kind of like a pie’s younger, hippie friend that is totally rustic and fuss free. It can be messy and yet it still looks incredibly cool and beautiful. This galette in particular is sweet, tart and bursting with strawberry and lemon flavour packed in a ghee almond flour crust.

Are you ready to give it a go?

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Have you ever used lemon verbena before?

Let’s talk about it for a moment. It is one of my absolute favourite herbs to grow in the summer. It’s like someone disguised a nice zesty lemon in green plant form. MAGIC! It has very potent lemon flavour when bruised and makes a wonderful tea or sun tea. It also goes really well in savoury meat or fish dishes. I grow mine in a pot on my balcony here in Toronto and LOVE being able to reach for it whenever I want. You can order lemon verbena seeds for next season through Richter’s Herbs.

If you don’t have access to lemon verbena, fresh lemon balm or even basil would be really nice. I would only use fresh herbs to make this. Otherwise you could also try subbing 1 tbsp of lemon zest for that lemony flavour.

But how about that crust Lizzy? Ok here are the keys I have learned to making the most delicious (and paleo!) galette crust.

Keep your fat cold. I put my ghee in the fridge before I started this recipe so that it wasn’t melting when I tried to pulse it in.

Use cold water to help form the dough is necessary so it won’t melt the ghee.

Pop the dough straight into the fridge for an hour before you roll it out.

Instructions

To make the crust add the almond flour, arrowroot flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, salt and lemon zest to a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the cold ghee and pulse until crumbly. Transfer the mixture to a bowl and slowly add the cold water and apple cider vinegar, one tsp at a time, mixing with your fingers. When the dough sticks together when you press it you have added enough cold water. Form the dough into a ball and wrap tightly with plastic wrap or a beeswax wrap. let the dough chill in the fridge for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Once the dough has chilled for an hour remove the wrap and roll out between two pieces of parchment paper until the dough is about 12 inches wide. Place the filling in the centre of the dough and fold the edges up. It doesn’t have to be perfect and if anything breaks just squeeze it back together with your fingers. Brush the folded edges with the egg yolk and top with a sprinkle of coconut sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.

Notes

*if you can’t tolerate ghee feel free to try subbing coconut oil

**If you don’t have lemon verbena, lemon balm or fresh basil would also be very nice. Or even just using some lemon zest if you can’t get your hands on any fresh herbs.

I could eat a piece of this right now! I love the rustic look of a galette, as I never like my food to look overly handled or processed. This combination of lemon flavour with strawberries is beautiful!